When I hear "Micro" I immediately think small and dedicated. My idea of a micro roaster would be up to 10k roaster. I think anything above that would not be a micro. Same idea of a micro brewer for beer. The micro brewers here in Canada do a limited run at a time.
Brian

A very subjective question and I like the variety of answers you've been getting. It shows that there probably isn't really a pat answer for this.

For us though we tend to think not of the size of the roaster or sales volume itself but the overall scale of the business and especially the mind-set of the owners.

As to scale, right now my wife roasts, I sell and deliver. We both label, grind, and bag. Our kids help out when they're not in school or doing kid things. Once the business gets to a point where I'd have to hire someone, where automation -- like a bigger grinder, roaster, or auto-bagger -- couldn't fill in the gaps, then I'd think we might be moving away from being a "micro roaster". Maybe too if The Lovely & Talented Roast Mistress had to get help with the roasting, in my mind that would start to put us in a different category. But with just a 10k roaster, and not killing ourselves, our family can produce about a ton of coffee a week. With things properly automated and a 60kg roaster we could produce five tons a week which works out to about half-a-million pounds of coffee a year. That's a lot of coffee!

As to mind-set we're determined to be as hands on as possible. One thing that means is regular contact with the buyers in the stores we're in. It also means not cutting corners and using the best ingredients. It means really caring about the product. I guess if that mind-set ever went by the wayside -- and in our case we consciously meter the business (yes, even turning down business that we don't feel is 'right' for us) so that it doesn't get to the point where we can't give that kind of attention to our customers and product -- then we'd no longer be a micro-roaster.

So there you go -- our two cents worth.

Wrinkles only go where the smiles have been -- Jimmy Buffett (via Mark Twain)

I guess when you compare 100,000 lbs per year to some of the roasters that are doing that much per week then it is justified to say a micro roaster is that size but I still stand by my statement that my idea of a micro roaster should be a smaller amount. I mean 8,000 pounds per month is then 2,000 per week which I still have trouble with identifying as "micro" but it would definetaly be the upper end of micro. Maybe we could have a new definition for those doing under 500 lbs per week. This would be someone who roasts just for their own shop and maybe a few customers but definetaly no wholesale.
Brian